The Sagas of Olaf Tryggvason and of Harald The Tyrant (Harald Haardraade) Part 18

The King rejoined laughing: 'Kinsman-in-law, I will send thee in to town & thou shalt make it up betwixt the peasants and me; & if that business cometh to naught then shalt thou fare to the Uplands, & good feeling again cause with Ivar Hakonson & so bring it about that he goeth not to war against me.' Fin answered: 'What will be my reward an I go on this fool's errand, for alike Throndhjem folk and Upland folk are so hostile to thee that no messenger of thine could fare to them save at his own risk.'

The King answered: 'Go thou on this errand, kinsman-in-law, for well wot I an any man could bring us to a reconciliation it would be thee, & ask thyself of us what boon thou wilt have therefor.'

'Keep thou thy word, and I will choose the boon; I choose peace for my brother Calf and removal of his outlawry, and the restoring unto him of all his possessions; and furthermore I ask that he shall have all his appointments and all the power that he had or ever he left the land.'

And the King said yea to all whatever Fin asked of him, & they twain before witnesses took one another by the hand thereon. Thereafter said Fin: 'But what am I to proffer Hakon so that he may promise thee peace, for he it is who hath the upper hand of those kinsmen'? The King said: 'First shalt thou find out what Hakon is like to demand so that reconciliation may be brought about, and thereafter must thou forward my cause as best thou canst; but should the worst come to the worst, then deny him nothing save & except the kings.h.i.+p itself.'

-- Then went King Harald southward to More where mustered he men, and a great number was gathered unto him.

-- So Fin Arnison fared into the town & took with him his house-carles to the number of some eighty men, and being come to the town held he a Thing with the townsmen. Now Fin spoke long and wisely at this Thing, bidding townsman and peasant take any other course rather than live in hatred with his King or drive him away; & he reminded them how much ill they had been brought to suffer when they had acted in this wise aforetime, towards the sainted King Olaf.

He said, moreover, that the King would atone for these murders in such manner as the best & wisest men might adjudge; and the outcome of the speech of Fin was that the men gave their word to let the matter rest until the return of the messengers despatched by Bergliot to Hakon Ivarson in the Uplands. Thereafter fared Fin out to Orkadal with the men who had accompanied him to town, and further up to the Dofrafjal and eastward (south) across those mountains; and firstly went he to see his kinsman-in-law Earl Orm (the Earl was wedded to Sigrid the daughter to Fin) & to him disclosed his errand.

-- When this was done, appointed they a tryst with Hakon Ivarson, & when they were met did Fin before Hakon lay his errand in accordance with the behest of King Harald. But on the instant was it seen from the speech of Hakon that he deemed himself bound to avenge the slaying of his kinsman Eindrid; and said he, moreover, that he had received word from Throndhjem that there would come to him forces sufficient for an uprising against the King.

-- Then did Fin open unto Hakon what a difference would lie, and how much the more to his own vantage, were he, in lieu of risking battle against a King to whom he was already bounden by service, to accept from that King honour as great as he himself might demand. Fin said that Hakon might be unvictorious; 'and then wouldst thou have forfeited both wealth and peace; and if thou wert victorious over the King then wouldst thou be dubbed a traitor.'

The Earl also supported this speaking of Fin.

When Hakon had given the matter thought, made he known to them what was in his mind, & said: 'I will accept reconciliation from King Harald if he will give me in wedlock his kinswoman Ragnhild, the daughter of Magnus Olafson, with such a dowry as is seemly for her, and as she herself may desire.'

Then Fin answered that he would promise the fulfilment of this request on behalf of King Harald, & therewith was the matter ratified between them. Thereafter fared Fin back north to Throndhjem, and all the disquiet and turmoil was set at rest; and so in the end kept the King his kingdom in peace within the land, for now the whole of that league came to naught which the kinsfolk of Eindrid had set against King Harald.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

-- Now when the time was come that Hakon was to demand the fulfilment of the contract, fared he to see King Harald; and when they began talking of the matter together, said the King to him that he on his side would keep to everything that had been covenanted twixt Hakon and Fin: 'Thou shalt speak with Ragnhild herself, Hakon,' said the King, 'and ask her consent to this match, but I would not advise thee, or any other, to wed Ragnhild save with her consent.'

Thereafter went Hakon unto Ragnhild and asked her hand, and she answered: 'Indeed feel I that my father, King Hakon, is dead, since I am to be given to a peasant, fine man though thou art and of mighty prowess. Were King Magnus alive would he never yoke me with any mate less than a king, nor can it be awaited now that I will wed a man without princely rank.' Now after this went Hakon to King Harald & opened unto him of the colour of the speech of Ragnhild, & withal to his memory again commended the agreement betwixt himself and Fin; and Fin was there present, & sundry others who could also bear witness to what was pledged betwixt him and Fin. Then of them all demanded Hakon to bear him out in regard to the agreement that the King should give Ragnhild such dowry as was to her mind: 'Since she will not wed an unprincely man then canst thou give me an earldom; lineage have I, and according to what folk say certain other qualities therewith that may well give me t.i.tle to be an earl.' Then said the King: 'When King Olaf, my brother, & King Magnus, his son, ruled the kingdom, one earl did they allow to be in the country at a time; this likewise hath been my plan since I have been King, & therefore will I not take away from Orm the dignity which I have already given him.' Then saw Hakon that his cause had not been forwarded and he liked it but ill, and Fin was likewise exceeding wrath that the King had not kept his word, and thereafter they parted. Hakon fared straightway from the country in a well-found long-s.h.i.+p, and southward steered a course for Denmark where he betook him to his kinsman-in-law, King Svein. The King received him with great pleasure & gave him large grants in Denmark and made he Hakon also captain of his coast defences, which were against vikings, who oft-times harried in the Danish realm, and Wends, and Courlanders, and other folk coming from the east. Therefore at sea, on his s.h.i.+ps, dwelt Hakon in winter as well as in summer.

-- Asmund was the name of a certain man who was said to be nephew-- & foster-son to King Svein, a very able man was he, and well-beloved by the King.

But when Asmund grew to man's estate soon showed he himself of an unruly complexion & a manslayer; and the King being ill-pleased thereat sent him away, but gave him a company of men and a goodly feof whereof could he full well find support.

Now no sooner had Asmund accepted the money of the King than gathered he many men to him, and thereafter, since the money the King had granted him sufficed in no sort for his charges, seized he many possessions of the King.

For this ill conduct, when the King heard thereof, summoned he Asmund to him, and when they met told him that obeyed would he be, that he must enter his body-guard & no longer have his own company of men. When Asmund had been a time with the King, became he ill-content, & one night ran he away and rejoined his company, and thereafter wrought even more evil than aforetime.

Then it befell once upon a time when the King was riding in his dominions, that he came nigh unto the place where then abode Asmund and he despatched men to take him by force, and that done the King had him put in irons and kept him thus for a while to see if he would not grow meeker. But when Asmund was let loose from his irons forthwith ran he the more away, & raised men and war-s.h.i.+ps, and fell to harrying both at home and abroad, & much war-work did he, slaying many folk, and pillaging far and wide. Those men that were the sufferers from his raids went to the King and made plaint before him, and he rejoined: 'Why say ye this to me, why do ye not fare to Hakon Ivarson? He is now the warden of my coasts, and is put there to punish vikings and keep the peace for ye peasants. It was told me that Hakon was a bold man and brave, but methinks that now is he never to be found where he deemeth danger to be toward.'

These words from the King, and many added to them, came to the ears of Hakon, & thereon went Hakon & his men in search of Asmund, & they were met on their s.h.i.+ps, wherefore Hakon forthwith gave battle. A hard & great struggle was it; Hakon boarded Asmund's s.h.i.+p and cleared it, and at the last he and Asmund themselves dealt blows one at another with their weapons & thus fell Asmund. Thereafter Hakon smote off his head, & then betook him with all speed to King Svein whom he found sitting at table.

Hakon advanced before the table and laid the head thereon, in front of the King, and asked of him whether he recognized it.

Never a word did the King answer, but he was blood-red to behold.

Thereafter went Hakon away. A little later sent the King men to him, to bid him leave his service, & he said: 'No hurt will I do him, but it is not for us to be the keeper of all our kinsmen.'

-- Then when all these things were accomplished did Hakon quit Denmark & thence fared forth to the north of Norway, to his demesne.

By that time was his kinsman, Earl Orm, dead.

The friends and kindred to Hakon were rejoiced over his coming, and many a bold man set to work to make peace betwixt him & the King, & in the end were they reconciled, to wit, both King Harald and Hakon; and Hakon was given Ragnhild, the King's daughter, in marriage, & King Harald gave him Orm's earldom and such rule as had been Orm's aforetime. Hakon swore fealty to the King, and likewise to afford him such service as he was bounden to give him.

-- Since he had fared from Norway had Calf Arnison been living after the fas.h.i.+on of a viking westward, but the winters through oft-times abode he in Orkneyja (the Orkneys) with his kinsman-in-law, Earl Thorfin. Fin Arnison sent to his brother Calf to tell him concerning the covenant which he and King Harald had encompa.s.sed, the purport whereof being ye outlawry of Calf himself, to wit, that it should be once more lawful to him to dwell in his own land, and possess his estates, and such land dues as he had held aforetime from King Magnus. When Calf received this message, forthwith made he him ready to quit, and sailed he east to Norway, and firstly sought he his brother Fin.

Thereafter Fin craved a truce for Calf, and then were they confronted, the King and Calf, & entered into a covenant like unto the agreement to which the King & Fin had arrived on this matter. Thereon gave Calf his hand, and bound himself on the same terms as he had bound himself to King Magnus aforetime, that he would do all such works as King Harald desired or deemed would be for the strengthening of his kingdom.

Then was Calf re-endowed with all his possessions, and the land-dues which had been his in former days.

-- Next summer called out King Harald an host and fared to Denmark where he harried during the summer.

But when he was come south to Fion (Funen) found he a large host a.s.sembled against him, so bade the King his men leave their s.h.i.+ps and arm themselves in order to make a landing; and parted he his host and gave to Calf Arnison command over one company thereof, and bade them go the first ash.o.r.e and told them where to take up their station; himself, said he, would go up after them, and come to their a.s.sistance.

Calf and his men went ash.o.r.e, and anon a band of men set upon them, and Calf forthwith gave battle. Not long was the combat, for Calf was overborne by odds and fled with his folk. The Danes pursued them, slaying many of the Norwegians, and likewise Calf Arnison.

When King Harald with his company were come ash.o.r.e soon found they the slain, more especially the corse of Calf, and this was borne down to the s.h.i.+ps, but the King pursued his march inland where he harried and slew many men. Thus saith Arnor:

'The edge so sharp in Fion He reddened, and the fire Rushed o'er the dwelling; Fewer folk were there thereafter in Fion.'

-- After this conceived Fin Arnison enmity against Harald for the slaying of his brother Calf, for said he that the King had purposely compa.s.sed the death of Calf; and furthermore that it was befooling of him himself, to wit, this luring of Calf west across the seas into the power of King Harald, and into putting faith in him. When these words were spread abroad spake many men their mind that Fin had been simple when he had deemed that Calf could trust in the good faith of King Harald, for it was known that the King bore malice for deeds of smaller consequence than those Calf had committed against his person.

Now let the King every man talk on this matter as he listed: he made neither confirmation nor yet contradiction of whatsoever they said, and it was in his own words alone that men did discover satisfaction at what had happened. King Harald chanted this song:

'Now of men eleven and two have I the bane been, We incite to battle and full many a slaying I remember.

That mind which is with treason fraught Seeks to tame men by falseness; Men say 'tis little that it takes such a balance to disturb.'

-- So much to heart did Fin Arnison take the death of his brother that he quitted the land and came south to Denmark, and going unto King Svein was well received by him. The King & he spake long together privily, & at the end thereof was it known how Fin was minded then and there to take service with King Svein and become his man. To him gave Svein the t.i.tle or Earl and therewith Halland to govern, and there Fin tarried to safeguard the coast against the Norwegians.

-- Now Ketil Calf & Gunhild had a son whose name was Guthorm of Ringanes.

On his mother's side was he the nephew of King Olaf and King Harald, able was he withal & early come to manhood. Guthorm was oft with King Harald who to him was of very friendly countenance, and over Harald had Guthorm much influence for he was a wise man & well-beloved of all.

Guthorm sailed often on viking cruises to the lands in the west, and had disposition over many men.

His peace-land & place of abode in winter was Dublin in Ireland, where he was a sworn friend of King Margad.--

-- The summer thereafter King Margad and Guthorm with him fared to Bretland (Wales) in order to harry there, and thence took they much wealth which they had pillaged. After having done thus, lay they to in Anglesey Sound so that they might part their plunder, but when all the silver, and great was the quant.i.ty, was carried before the King and he beheld it, then desired he to keep all for himself, and seemed now to set scant store by his friends.h.i.+p with Guthorm.